Sanitation and Water Supply in Low-income Countries

Water supply, sanitation and the means of practicing basic hygiene (WASH) are amongst the fundamental requirements of life. For the past 50 to 150 years people living in Europe, America and a few capital cities elsewhere around the globe have come to take for granted the provision of a virtually limitless supply of clean, safe water and the seemingly effortless removal of all human wastes ‘out of sight and out of mind’. That this miracle of collective political will, urban planning and engineering bravura is so much taken for granted is credit to the public health engineers, planners, civic administrators and politicians who made it possible. That we should take it for granted is wholly unacceptable. In this book the authors introduce the underlying principles and concepts behind effective water supply and sanitation service delivey in areas where coverage levels are extremely low and funds are scarce. The book covers technical, social and financial aspects of water supply and sanitation and is an invaluable introductory text for undergraduate students, postgraduate researchers who are engaging with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for the first time, and professionals working in the field who require a basic reference handbook.